Volume 9: Is there a doctor in the House?

Today started with an 8:00am bike ride with Jim. Matt & I rode up to meet him in North Warren.


I could feel my hips and hamstrings yelling at me from all of the workouts from the past 2 days. We took the pace nice & easy with a high cadence to warm up. We met up with Jim, rode down State St and then started up to Russell on Rt 62. Unfortunately, the road was being repaved, so the birm was extremely narrow and the road surface was rough. It was going to be too risky, so we turned around and……back up Hatch Run we went! Oh my aching hips! Actually, I caught a break because Jim had to be home by 9:00. So, we only made it partially up the hill before having to turn around to head back. So sad….not really! It was still a good ride all in all and great to catch up with Jim. He gave Matt some insight on his knee issue. He doesn’t feel it is tendonitis, but rather a possible micro muscle tear based upon the fact that he can visibly see the raised muscle and Matt’s description of the pain. Jim suggested some rehab exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles to help support the injured one.

After we got back home and fueled our engines with some of Scotty’s delicious waffles (Matt only ate 1 square), we all headed to the river. My mom & Kryste went for a walk while Ian splashed around in the water with Scotty. Matt and I got on our wetsuits and headed in for a swim.
I tried out Maija’s suggestion of letting some water in the front of my wetsuit prior to starting to swim. That water warms up against the skin adding an additional layer of insulation vs. the cold water. Hopefully this will make it easier for me to breath when I begin. Brrrrrrr!! Wow, it’s cold! And here we go…start swimming!

We are aiming for the “endless pool” by the island. The water is very clear and VERY cold. After a minute or two I have to bring my head up out of the water….ice cream headache in my face. Whew….ok, back in the water and swim. After 1 more short break, I adjusted to the temperature. I couldn’t help but wonder…what is the benefit of wearing a neoprene cap if it doesn’t cover the face? It seems to me that what would be really effective is a neoprene ski mask. Anyway…I was able to swim smoothly and easily using bi-lateral breathing. My sighting technique is non-existent, but at least I am swimming. It was fun swimming in the clear water, watching my hands go into the water with each stroke and seeing the mossy rocks. (There was a water snake sighting back on shore. Luckily I didn’t run into any of those…although I wonder how fast I could swim if I did! I would rather not find out!) I made it up to the end of the island. Time to swim in the endless pool. I kept trying to stop & stand up to see if I had caught up to Matt. The current was so powerful that I had trouble keeping my balance. I eventually made it to him and we swam in place for a bit. When we decided to head back down stream, all I had to do was lift my feet and I took off like a rocket in current. With the wetsuit on, I felt like a leaf on the rolling river. Very fun…too bad the swim during races can’t start (or better yet end) that way! On my way back to the cottage I swam next to a small motorboat of fishermen who happened to start their engine as I was passing. Ugh! I really think I choked on the fumes under the water. Talk about ruining our swim in the beautiful Allegheny River!

We got back to shore, changed into dry clothes and headed back into town. We met up with Jerry to help move his sofa from Scandia down to the house on Monroe St. (BTW- Jerry sold his house.) Glad we were able to help him out. With some maneuvering, we were just barely able to get it out of his house and into Michelle’s….but we figured it out.

Then it was time to pack the car and head for NJ….sigh. Although we got a later start back than we intended, the timing worked to our benefit. As we were pulling into our usual stop on Rt 80 at the Panera Bread in Buckhorn, they were getting ready to lock the doors. 8:00pm and it was closing time. The manager was kind enough to let us in to place our order. On the way out, he also hooked us up with 2 free loaves of their French baguettes. Sweet!! Thank you very much, mister! That stuff makes the best French toast ever! The other cool thing about Panera is that they donate all of their leftover bread and bagels each day to a local food pantry. Very nice.

We had a great weekend filled with family, friends and good workouts. Another successful week of Mooseman preparation in the books! Wahoo! Can’t wait to see what this week has in store for us!